Standing By

"Here we are." Kaguya said as she rode into town on her horse, "This is Galia, the satellite city of Memoria Auspice."

"Seems pretty lively." Roko said as he watched the people bustle through the streets, "Is the school nearby?"

"Technically, yes." Kaguya giggled as she got off her horse, "But, in reality Galia is on a whole other continent to Memoria Auspice."

"Spatial magic sure is handy."

"Quite." Kaguya handed the reins of her horse over to Mikado who bowed and lead the horse off to a nearby public stable, "It's been a while but I did said I would show you the town once we have time. Now it's the perfect way to celebrate your arm finally healing."

"I thought I'd never get that cast off." Roko flexed his newly healed arm around, "Now I can finally write properly again."

"Is that all that matters to you?"

"Well I haven't been able to scan normal people." Roko said as he looked around at the people and began writing in his notebook, "This should provide some good data."

"I see you even got yourself a new notebook for the occasion." Kaguya laughed, "You must've been quite excited for this."

"Not particularly."

"Mmhm. Well, I have some business to attend to in the town itself so please take your time exploring Galia. It's a very safe town so you shouldn't find yourself in much trouble. Here. Take this."

Roko held out his hand as Kaguya placed a bag of coins in his hands, "Is this money?"

"Indeed. There is about 30 gold in there. Around three or so gold should be enough to buy most commodities here. Please feel free to buy whatever you like."

"There isn't much that I want though." Roko frowned.

"Everybody wants something eventually." Kaguya replied, "Take them with you just in case you find anything."

"I guess it's fine." Roko said as he stuffed the bag of coins in his pocket.

"Don't go losing it now." Kaguya said as Mikado rejoined them, "It might not be too much money but it's still a good amount. We'll meet up in the town square at noon."

"Bye." Roko waved as Kaguya and Mikado departed.

Roko walked around the town of Galia, scanning anything that caught his eye. As the information from Scan doesn't disappear until he goes to sleep, Roko wasn't particularly worried about writing down everything immediately. So he allowed himself the time to actually explore the town. Galia was a harbor town which made it larger than most towns though it lacked the grandiose to qualify it as a city. Galia was just a big town with simple folk. Nothing like the cold urban environment that he lived in his old world. Not that he gave himself much of an opportunity to explore his old home to make any good of a comparison. Roko was sure his home was lively but Galia seemed even livelier still. He wandered from stall to stall and store to store, examining the unique merchandise and even indulging in some of the local cuisine. He never found anything that interested him personally but he had enough to keep him occupied until noon came around and Kaguya arrived in the town square.

"I'm glad to see you haven't spent your entire morning writing." Kaguya said as she and Mikado walked up to Roko,

"Just been waiting here and catching up on my records." Roko said as he closed his notebook.

"I see you've bought some things. What did you buy?"

"Oh yeah." Roko reached into his bag and rummaged around, "Here, this is for you."

"A...jeweled branch?" Kaguya looked surprised as she accepted a branch adorned with jewelry on it.

"Yeah. They're not real jewels but they were selling them for pretty cheap."

"Does that scan tell you about things that person might like or something?"

"No, I just figured you'd like something like this."

"Well I do." Kaguya smiled as she handed the branch over to Mikado, "Maybe I'll find a nice vase to display this."

"And I got this for Mikado."

"For me?" Mikado looked surprised as he accepted a small painted feather from Roko.

"I honestly wasn't sure what you'd like so I got you this."

"Hand that here for a moment, Mikado."

Mikado gave the feather to Kaguya who placed it on Mikado's helmet with a bright smile, "I like this. Let's try to keep that on there from now on."

"As you wish." Mikado sighed.

"What else did you buy?" Kaguya asked as she turned back to Roko.

"Oh. Just a few more novelty items. There's a plushie for Corissa."

"Why is it a bat?"

"It was the cutest thing they had in the store."

"What a peculiar store."

"There's a red scarf for Varis."

"Why a scarf?"

"I figured he could use something to break up the monotony of his black armor."

"It is quite monotonous."

"For Momo I got some cookie cutters."

"Does Momo like baking?"

"Yeah."

"Hm. Did not know that."

"Helena I got a dreamcatcher."

"Oh that's pretty. I'm sure she'll be able to get some good night's sleep with this."

"It was pretty hard to find something I think she'd be interested in." Roko admitted, "For Roland I got a pack of gum."

"Um...why?"

"It was the cheapest thing I could find. Anyway for Oto I got this novelization of one of her movies."

"Does she really need something like that though? Wait, can she even read?"

"I imagine she has to read scripts so probably."

"Did you not buy anything for yourself?" Kaguya asked.

"I told you, there's not a lot of things I'm interested in." Roko shrugged, "I tried some of the food around here though."

"I suppose that counts." Kaguya sighed, "Now, I believe our time here is coming to an end. Let's return to Memoria Auspice shall we?"

"Oh. Well in that case, here. Take this back." Roko said as he got up and tossed the pouch of coins back to Kaguya.

"What? No, it's perfectly fine. I didn't..." Kaguya paused as she weighed the pouch of coins in her hands before opening it to peer inside, "Why is there more gold coins here than before?"

"I got some extra gold as thanks for helping some stores with their business." Roko explained, "Price comparisons, sale planning, stock changes. Just some background stuff."

"Is it physically impossible for you to do something for yourself?"

It was a short walk from outside of the borders of Galia before the landscape warped around them, back to the familiar walls of Memoria Auspice. Kaguya and Mikado bid farewell at the entrance and went off to return their horse to its stable. Roko was about to leave himself when someone addressed him.

"I see you've had quite the time out on the town."

"Kress." Roko said as the etiquette teacher walked up to him, "I'm surprised to see you here."

"Having fun on our days off huh? Honestly it seemed like it was about time you left the school premises a bit."

"I've left the premises plenty." Roko replied, "It's just not often I don't end up in some sort of battle when I do."

"That's fair." Kress smiled, "In any case, I have a message for you."

"What is it?"

"The headmaster wants to see you."

"Me?" Roko said shocked, "Why?"

"That is a private matter best left between the two of you. I suggest you place down your souvenirs and report to the office immediately."

Roko hurriedly returned his bags to his room before following Kress to the headmaster's office. Along the way, Roko could feel the nervousness building inside of him. This would be the first time he would be meeting with the headmaster. This was the person that had so graciously given him a home after he arrived unexpectedly. This was also the person who was hiding some information on those eldritch creatures they had found in the Paramnesia Wildwood. Roko wondered if this could have anything to do with those monsters. Kress lead Roko to a set of large mahogany doors. With a slight smile, Kress opened the doors and invited him inside. Filled with nervous tension, Roko stepped into the office.

The moment Roko stepped inside, he noticed the tall figure standing behind a desk, back turned to him and staring out the window into the school grounds below.

"Thank you Kress." The figure turned around to meet the two of them, "This is our first time meeting isn't it, little Roko?"

"...You're a guy." Roko said as he stared at the effeminate figure in front of him.

"Oh? Is this the power of the Scan that you have?" The headmaster said.

"No, it's just obvious you're a guy."

"I see, I see." The headmaster chuckled, "Well, I'd like it if you'll refer to me as a woman."

"Oh. I mean sure. Sorry, I was just surprised."

"It's understandable darling." The headmaster smiled, "My name is Zadkiel Marchosias. I am the headmaster of Memoria Auspice."

"It's nice to finally meet you." Roko bowed.

"Likewise. I hope you've been enjoying your time in our school thus far, young man."

"Well, I didn't think I'd be learning royal habits in this school." Roko admitted, "I was hoping to learn some magic but that hasn't happened."

"Your only spell is Scan then, correct? That is still quite a unique spell. You should be proud."

"Just because it's unique doesn't mean it's valuable." Roko scowled, "I for one haven't been able to really find a use for it."

"Perhaps if you were omnipotent it'd be more useful." Zadkiel chuckled, "Then again, if you were omnipotent then you wouldn't need Scan in the first place would you?"

"Was there something you wanted from me?" Roko sighed.

"Of course. I have a favor to ask of you."

"A favor?"

"Two of them, in fact. One is quite a simple matter. The other will require some discretion."

"Are you sure you want me to do it?" Roko asked, "Surely there are more qualified individuals at your disposal."

"No, I believe you're perfect for the job." The headmaster nodded, "Especially since I can't possibly ask any student or staff to do it."

"Don't have a lot of friends then do you?"

"Harsh words!" Zadkiel laughed, "No but I think you'd quite enjoy this. You've only recently been to visit Galia correct? How do you feel about vising an entirely new country?"

"From what I hear, Galia is already a new country." Roko scoffed, "But I'll bite. Where am I going?"

"The Physia Kingdom."